From a photograph by Solomon D. Butcher of four daughters of rancher Joseph M. Chrisman, at their sod house in Custer County, Nebraska. From left to right, Harriet, Elizabeth, Lucie, and Ruth. Photographed in 1886.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Blogs and Blogging...

If you chose two words that people hear daily in May 2006 that they never heard five years ago, the words might be 'iPod' and 'blog.'

We all know about Apple's iPod. It has revolutionized the music business, becoming not just a way to listen to music, but also a fashion statement.

Then there's the humble blog (short hand for Web log). Blogs have been with us much longer than iPods, but have developed in the past few years into a cultural force. Like the iPod, having your own blog is also a status symbol."

The gist of the article is that blogs are affecting what the world is talking about and what the media is reporting about. Even reporters and political thinkers are starting to read blogs to see what the buzz is. (I did not find this surprising.)

Interesting factoids in the article include these: "Thirty-seven percent of blogs are written in Japanese, 31 percent in English, and China is rapidly rising in third place with 15 percent."

IT IS STILL BEST to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasure; and to be cheerful and have courage when things go wrong.(Laura Ingalls Wilder, 1867-1957)